African Union Selects JKUAT for the Applied Geology Curricula Project

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) has been selected by the African Union, the Association of African Universities and other African experts to participate in the First General Meeting meant to develop a competence based curricula in the field of applied geology – effective exploration of minerals and energy resources. The meeting will be held in Cairo, Egypt starting12th–14th October this year.

The gathering will provide a vibrant platform for JKUAT which offers mining and mineral processing programmes to play a significant role alongside other institutions of higher learning in Africa, in developing competence based curricula, build capacity in teaching and learning and quality enhancement, define common study credits and assessment tools, develop partnerships between universities across Africa and beyond in the field of Geology.

Further, JKUAT will also play a significant role in “contributing towards the goals of the African Strategy for Harmonization in Higher Education and the realization of the objectives of the revised ARUSHA Declaration.”

According to the Director of Tuning Africa Academy, Pablo Beneitone, “Phase II of the Tuning Africa Project is set to scale up from 5 subject areas to 8 and from 60 universities to 120 across the whole of Africa. Universities will be reviewing their degree programs and will also implement them within their universities and with each other,” he explained.

In the case of JKUAT, the Vice Chancellor Prof. Mabel Imbuga has nominated Dr. Bernard Kipsang Rop, a former Commissioner of Mines and Geology, in the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources who is the current Chairperson of the Mining, Materials and Petroleum Engineering Department at JKUAT to spearhead the applied geology deliberations at the meeting on behalf of the institution. Dr. Rop is also the Director of Rural Electricity Authority.

In his congratulatory note to JKUAT on behalf of the Managing Committee of the Tuning Africa Project, Mr.Beneitone said, the institution’s involvement in the initiative will be “an opportunity for the University to develop competence based curricula, build capacity in teaching and learning and quality enhancement, define common and agreed study credits and assessment tools, develop joint agreements between universities.”

He further observed that the selection process was competitive and the committee received a large number of high quality applications from universities to participate in the initiative and spent considerable time reviewing the applications with the advice from the African Union, the Association of African Universities and other African experts.